It was one of those afternoon escapades at Starmark the intriguing blue cover of ‘Sleeping on Jupiter’ first caught my attention. On seeing a Bengali name as the author, my interest increased and I browsed through the pages. The next few visits to the bookstore would only be spent reading Anuradha Roy’s heart-wrenching, lyrical masterpiece which has now been long-listed for Man Booker Prize, 2015.

‘Sleeping on Jupiter’ is the story of the Nomi, born in India but adopted and raised by a foster-mother in Oslo. Nomi has returned to India to visit Jarmuli, a small temple-town on the banks of Bay of Bengal, in search of her past. She is seeking closure.

The narrative begins when Nomi was six or seven, in the years after the war when she was separated from her family and was taken to an ashram. Hopping from past to present, Anuradha brilliantly sketches a tale of violence and abuse that young Nomi had undergone in the ashram.

Then there is the trip of Vidya, Gauri and Latika – three friends in their 60s. “Three old biddies from Calcutta”, a hotel manager describes them. The narrative also introduces us to Suraj, who works as a liaison person for a TV channel and has his share of ambitions as well. There’s also Badal, a street-smart temple guide who is essential in the plot.

Anuradha Roy’s vivid sketch of the characters will make them lively for the reader. Whether it is the predatory Guruji or the brutal scenes of child sexual abuse, the words strike directly at your heart. The picturesque description of the quaint town of Jarmuli also strikes a chord.

The precision of writing, striking prose and the earthy, humane narrative make this book stand out. The author’s exquisite eloquence and evocative writing makes a simple story much more precious. ‘Sleeping on Jupiter’ is truly representative of modern India and the associated hypocrisies of our society.

My Rating: 4/5 stars

DISCLAIMER: All Images Used In This Post Have Their Respective Copyrights

“Baith jaiye. Shaant ho jaiye”. These words have been part of the staple joke in 2011. The serene Meira Kumar with her signature smile, chiding MPs who disrupted Parliament on a regular basis for one demand or the other – this had been the regular scene on TV studios.

A year and quarter back, when the 16th Lok Sabha was sworn in, with the Bharatiya Janata Party commanding a brute majority, one had thought passing Bills would be a cakewalk for the ruling coalition now. Little did one anticipate that one year down the line, the same old scenes of ruckus would resurface and crores of tax payers’ money would be flushed down the aisles of the hallowed portals of the Parliament.

Now, the BJP is singing the “government tune” calling the Opposition for debate and discussion on the floor of the House, urging them not to waste the valuable time and money of the Parliament. In a role reversal, the Congress has struck to the “No resignation, no discussion” stand taken up by the BJP in the Monsoon-Winter Sessions of 2010.

Every minute of Parliament disrupted costs the exchequer Rs 2.5 lakh. As per some fan pages of Narendra Modi on Facebook, the disruptions in the previous week cost the nation Rs 27 crore. These pages blamed Congress for blocking key bills (rightly so) and said they were punishing the voters for rejecting the grand old party.

That made me think. As someone who has been keenly following Parliament sessions, the memories of 2010-11 are still fresh. BJP need not lecture others on smooth functioning of the House when their own leaders had made comments like “obstructing Parliament is also part of our daily work” or “disrupting Parliament is in national interest”.

And when it comes to calculating the loss to the exchequer caused by disruptions, BJP’s record is hard too match:

78 hours lost in Monsoon session and 59 hours in Winter Session as BJP demands resignation of various ministers.

2013:

73 hours lost again due to disruptions by various Opposition parties.

Total time wasted- 422 hours

This roughly amounts to a loss of Rs 63300 lakh crore to the exchequer. Now tell us what all we could have done with this money BJP wasted? For one, a financial package could have been given to West Bengal!